At the Three Violins / U trí houslicek - Nerudova Street (Prague) - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

This Czechoslovak post stamp issued in 1968, devoted to Prague historical sights, depicts house sign of Baroque burgherhouse "At the Three Violins" ("U trí houslicek") in Nerudova street in Lesser Town of Prague.

Burgherhouse at "At the Three Violins", originally a Gothic structure, was rebuilt in early Baroque style in 1618 and its current appearance is from mid-18th century. The house sign of three crossed violins in a Baroque frame is from the beginning of the 18th century and reminds of three families of violin-makers who owned the house. Building was purchased in 1667 by Barbora Ottová, a widow of a master violin maker, and after her it became the property of her son-in-law, well known violin maker Leonard Pradter. The next was his apprentice, Tomáš Edlinger, who married his master’s widow after his death. Tomáš and his son Jáchym Jan Edlinger made their enterprise very prosperous, as their violins, lutes and mandolins were well known home as well as abroad. Young Edlinger was perhaps even better than his father - he passed a violin-makers’ trainee programme in the famous Italian violin metropolis Cremona at the house of Nicola Amati, and he also studied the Tyrolean school of Jakob Steiner. In 1729 he took over his father’s business, but unfortunately, he died very young, in 1748, unmarried.